Jelena Dunato's "Ghost Apparent"

Once again, the stunning cover art of a novel on Twitter (X) caught my attention, and here it is! I signed up for an ARC and fell in love with the rich, medieval-inspired storyline. Today, Jelena Dunato is here to answer a few questions about her upcoming novel, Ghost Apparent, from Ghost Orchid Press.

Jelena Dunato's Ghost Apparent

Rebecca:  You mention online that Ghost Apparent is a prequel.  In what way is it related?  Are there shared characters in both?

Jelena: Yes, "Ghost Apparent" is a prequel to Dark Woods, Deep Water because the story is set in the same world, several years before the earliest storyline in DWDW. There are shared characters in both, most notably Orsiana, who is the main character in GA and a side character of great importance in DWDW.

This novella started as a short story, a little prequel about Orsiana I wanted to write because her character demanded a more substantial backstory. Some characters are like that - they refuse to be framed by the plot and they fight for more space to grow. I initially thought the story would be no longer than 5-6000 words, but it turned out that Orsiana had a lot of story to tell. And I am happy that she did, because it felt good writing her and discovering how it is possible to grow from a sheltered noble girl to a competent politician, and from a pious recluse to someone who can use gods for their own goals.

Rebecca:  I'll admit that your novel caught my eye because of its stunning cover art.  Did you have an input on your cover?  It captures the ambience of your story perfectly!

Jelena: I am very, very lucky that my publisher, Ghost Orchid Press, always works with me on the cover design. Together we chose Mia Minnis, a fantastic artist who works in digital media, but whose art looks traditional, which was the vibe we were looking for. 

As for the cover ideas and motifs, I had two main references. The first was Florence Small's painting "The Bride" - I loved the composition, the direct, frontal position of the subject and her perfect serenity - I knew that Orsiana should radiate the same energy. The other reference was the tradition of depicting patron saints holding the models of towns they protected - although Orsiana is definitely no saint, I think it resonates nicely with the main theme of the story.

The colour palette is also a conscious choice. Although this is a dark fantasy story and the readers might expect a dark cover, I wanted to emphasize that this is also a Mediterranean story with Mediterranean colours and light - bright, vibrant, jewel-like. When I imagine Abia, I imagine the stunning walled towns of the Eastern Adriatic basking in the sunshine, surrounded by the cerulean waves.

Rebecca: "Ghost Apparent" features some tricky gods and goddesses whose words never quite match up with what they promise. There's always a catch.  I've seen this before in medieval literature, but this seems to have a touch of ancient medieval or Slavic folklore.  Did this inspire you in any way? 

Jelena: Isn't "never quite matching up what they promise" the basic trait of all gods, from the capricious Olympians to the trickster deities of the North? Polytheistic religions are often so interesting because the gods are portrayed with many human flaws, and are rarely to be trusted. This goes for other supernatural beings, in folklore and fairy tales as well. Almost every powerful creature a hero encounters in folk and fairy tales is there to trick them in some way and make them pay a higher price than they agreed to.

Rebecca: Sort of like, “Be careful what you wish for.”
Jelena: I use Slavic pantheon in my stories because that's my heritage, but also because there's no written canon of Slavic mythology. The Croats converted to Christianity before they learnt to write, so all our mythology and folk tales come from the oral tradition, and are therefore quite vague and changeable. This is perfect if you are a writer, because it allows you the liberty to present many things with your own twist. Morana, Korab, Veles, Lada - they all appear in Slavic tales, but I've allowed myself quite a bit of liberty with them. Especially Morana, who appears in many of my stories - she is as multi-faceted and mutable as any proper deity deserves to be.

As for the medieval part, again - there aren't many original Croatian medieval sources preserved. However, I wanted to convey the sense of metaphysical wonder combined with everyday raunchiness of medieval life. Malory meeting Chaucer, if you will. 

Rebecca:  I’m a huge fan of Chaucer! Your first chapter quickly delves into the action when Orsiana's father is murdered before her very eyes within the first few pages.  Was this part of the plot inspired by anything true to life in medieval history?

Jelena: The murder of Orsiana's father is certainly inspired by the brutality of medieval politics, which has no shortage of regicides and assassinations of important people. Being a ruler was a much more dangerous job back then! However, if I had to choose one particular historical example that inspired the murder of Gospodar Orsolo, it would be the murder of Giuliano de' Medici, the co-ruler of Florence (with his brother, Lorenzo the Magnificent) and, by all accounts, a popular, artistic, interesting man. He was murdered at the onset of the Pazzi conspiracy, which aimed to displace the Medici family as rulers of Florence. Giuliano was attacked in public, during High Mass in the Florentine cathedral - he was stabbed 19 times and left to bleed out on the cathedral floor. The story of the conspiracy and his murder is quite incredible and worth looking up. 

The aftermath of Giuliano's murder also inspired my story - the fact that Lorenzo was attacked as well, but managed to survive, regain his control of Florence, avenge his brother's death and go on to become one of the most important patrons of the arts in the history of our civilization.

Rebecca:  You bring the medieval setting to life very vividly.  Do you have any plans for other novels set in this world? 

Jelena: Absolutely. I'm almost done with the next thing, a full-length novel. It's a prequel/sequel to Dark Woods, Deep Water - because why have one timeline when you can have several ones? There will be many familiar characters in that one, including Orsiana. And for those readers who loved Prince Amron in DWDW - I promise, you'll get more of him this time.

Rebecca: Thank you so much for giving us more behind the background of your latest novella. Readers, click the image above to find the direct link to Amazon, or go to Goodreads and check out the reviews.

Twitter (X): @Jelenawrites